North Dakota lawmaker eyes fee for electric and hybrid vehicles, calls it a matter of 'fairness'

[TexasTowelie]

BISMARCK — Owners of electric and hybrid vehicles in North Dakota would pay an annual fee to make up for lost gas tax revenue under a bill crafted by a Grand Forks lawmaker.

Republican state Sen. Curt Kreun said his proposal would help balance the scales between owners of traditional gas guzzlers who help fund road improvements by paying fuel taxes and drivers of more environmentally friendly vehicles who use those same roads. Under his bill, electric vehicle owners would face an annual $248 “road use fee” and hybrid drivers would see a $71 annual bill.

The fee amounts were calculated using average fuel economy and annual mileage figures. If passed, the electric vehicle fee would be the largest among the 20 states that already impose one, said Kevin Pula, a senior policy specialist with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Kreun’s bill, which will be debated during the legislative session that starts next month, comes as officials warn of heavy costs to maintain North Dakota’s transportation system. A report the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute released earlier this year pegged the state’s total infrastructure funding needs at $21.2 billion between 2016 and 2035.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/government-and-politics/938102-North-Dakota-lawmaker-eyes-fee-for-electric-and-hybrid-vehicles-calls-it-a-matter-of-fairness

[slumcamper]

1. Perhaps an annual motor vehicle registration surcharge.

I'm okay with that. I did not buy a Prius Eco to evade fuel tax. In fact, state DOT reliance on fuel tax is woefully insufficient and increasingly obsolete.

[brush]

2. Like that is gonna fly. Wonder how much big oil is paying him?

[mr_lebowski]

3. This doesn't seem unfair, really ... you are using the roads ...

As long as such fees DO indeed go to support roads/infrastructure, I can't see having a huge issue with it, if I owned a EV or Hybrid.

However, a good counterargument to that is ... how far are you going to take this reasoning? Are you going to start putting surcharges on good-gas-mileage (cause they're small ) gasoline-powered cars as well? Why not?

It would also be far more fair if 'miles driven', as well as 'vehicle weight', and 'effective horsepower' were all part of the formula for calculating the fee. Someone driving a badass-fast, big, heavy Tesla 100K miles a year should pay considerably more than someone driving a Volt 10K miles/year ... if you're going to have such a system.